South African Odisha community Celebrates Utkal Divas Raja Festival

The Odisha diaspora in South Africa celebrated Utkal Divas and Raja Festival in Johannesburg, showcasing the community's rich cultural heritage through traditional music, dance, cuisine and customs.

Organised by the Odia Cultural Association of South Africa (OCASA), the event held on Sunday brought together members of the Odia community as well as representatives of the broader Indian and South African communities.

The celebration commemorated the formation of Odisha in 1936, when the then British colonial rulers yielded to the long and determined struggle to attain recognition as an independent state.

“OCASA was established in 2005 as a vehicle to ensure the promotion of Oria culture, especially among children, so we started this annual festival," organiser Nihar Patnaik said.

The event has become an important platform for preserving Odia heritage and fostering cultural exchange, he said.

He said the event also provided opportunities for cultural collaboration and business networking, with Indian companies operating in South Africa displaying some of their products.

Patnaik said members of the Odisha community in South Africa are primarily employed in the information technology and pharmaceutical sectors.

According to him, the first Odia migrants arrived in South Africa in 1993 after the end of apartheid-era restrictions that had prevented Indians from travelling to or working in the country for decades.

"It steadily grew until there were about 120 families before Covid-19, but we now have about half that number, mostly settled in the greater Johannesburg area. It changes over time as most are contract workers helping South African businesses grow with their skills,” Patnaik explained.

Manish Gupta, Chairman of the India Club, which was started by the expatriate community almost two decades ago, commended OCASA for organising the event.

“OCASA has been a very valuable member of the India Club for a number of years now, always being a strong supporter of India Day and many other events and community development programmes that we host throughout the year,” he said.

More than 300 guests attended the event, where presentations on Odisha's history and cultural traditions were followed by traditional dishes prepared by community members.

A major attraction of the celebration was the traditional swings associated with the Raja Festival, with many participants, particularly young women, taking part in the customary activity.

Raja Festival, one of Odisha's most popular cultural celebrations, marks the advent of the monsoon and symbolises the fertility of the earth. Utkal Divas, observed annually on April 1, commemorates the creation of Odisha as a separate province in 1936.